I picked up some Victor #2 square jaw coils yesterday that have the jaws on the ouside of the base. Are these any better than the other ones with the jaws on the inside? I don't care much for these as a fox and coyote trap but I was thinking I may baseplate 'em and have them ready in case I need them as a last resort. Anyone have much experience with these? Thanks.

Personally I would just use them as a mink trap, and put the money for modifiying them towards new traps. I just wouldn't want to take the chance destroying them or having pullouts by setting them for fox and coyote.

I boutght a couple dozen of them many years ago. They were OK for fox since the fox is not very strong but, with coyote being everywhere, you face a good possiblity of them pulling the jaws out of the frame (happened to me a couple of times). The ones I have left will only be used for coon, mink and rats in drowning sets.

I've never baseplated mine and that might help but I still don't like them.

Hope this helps,

Bob

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If someone has done better than you, you settled for less but, it's not their fault.

I had a half dozen and sold em to a kid for $13 at the state convention. Told him not to set them if there was a chance of catching a coyote. Like the sgt. said they're probably ok for fox but I believe a coyote would pop the jaws out of em in about a minute or less, IMO. If there's a chance of coyote gettin in your fox set, probably don't want to set them, but that's my thoughts.

They make up the majority of my traps and I have used them to catched fox, coon and possum. This year I baseplated them, replaced the square jaws for new 1-3/4 victor round jaws. I also bubble tipped them. Im in the process of dying/waxing them now. I think that after my mods. to them they will make a dinomite fox,yote trap.carl

I started out using them my first season last year. Not knowing any better.I had more yote pullouts then I can even remember. They practically tore them all to pieces.They were great for coon....I don't know about fox or cat.But, all they do is educate anything bigger.

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"If women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy!!"

first traps that i owned .... caught alot of fox in em as well as quite a few yotes before i upgraded ..... the yotes do quite a bit of damage to em .... distorted jaws, bent frames, crushed dogs, etc .... i would think that if ya would mod em up they would work well for fox and yotes .... just a thought as i have never done such .... i use them now for mink and rats

the old style #2's like mentioned before werent put together very well .... there are 2 ways to look at this .... ya can go ahead and use em ... and run the risk of ya losin ya first yote to trap failure .... like i said i have held quite a few in em and ya may not run into any trouble ..... or ..... ya can use a trap that is a better choice for yotes .. its all up to you .... if ya tight on $$$ and thats all ya have .... by all means use em !!!

I have 3 dozen #2 Victor Coils that I use for muskrat floats and for large rat feed beds or at houses with large flat ares where the rats are active. I did just the opposite as you, I bought cheaper #2s years ago during the fur market crash and looked for the weakest spring ones for rats. I have held one 39 lb. coyote in one and the trap was OK, but they are not what I want on my canine line but they really drown rats in the deeper water areas where coon are not as likely for me.

I recall four-coiling one in the mid 90s and the pressure I used to set the trap bent the base. Needless to say, I took the second set of coils off.

I believe they were made predominantly as a fox trap and, at the time, coyote weren't as prevalent throughout the US (at least not in the east). The trap worked very well for fox but are just not strong enough for bigger animals. As for coon traps, there’s just way too much room under the jaw (unless you are using a drowning rig).

My .02.

S/F,

Bob

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If someone has done better than you, you settled for less but, it's not their fault.

I have a dozen of the Victor #2's with the jaws on the inside tips pointing out. Seems like a good trap and I'm looking to use them on yotes. Am I going to have issues with them? I want to do it the right way. Thanks any input would be great. P.S. not trying to hi-jack you topic.